Sternest test ever faced

Comparing his latest world title with the earlier three, Anand said, "It was tough on the chess board and off it. In general, I guess this is how the match is supposed to be.

"It was just that in the earlier championships I suddenly built up a huge lead. But this match went the whole length. In that sense this championship was the sternest test that I ever faced," he added.

Kramnik's help was great

As for the support he received from Gary Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik during the Championship, Anand said it gave him a boost.

"It is difficult to say very precisely. There were many difficult moments in the match, a lot of tense moments, suddenly you get a phone call from Gary or Kramnik, and it definitely cheered me up a lot. This is the first time that I received this kind of help," he said.

Asked which of the matches in the Championship were tough, Anand pointed out four games.

"I should have drawn the eighth game. At the end of a long defence I mixed up and forgot a move that I had seen earlier. I am not trying to take credit away, but if you press your opponent all the time, a mistake will happen.

Changed strategy in 12th game

"In the 12th game I decided to change my strategy a bit. I had played an opening the queens-gambit declined that I had not intended to before the match. It gave me a psychological boost and it worked extremely well with the black pieces," he said.

On Russian domination of World Championship titles, Anand said, "I would say that their dominance was not what it used to be. I doubt that any country will dominate like the Soviet Union."

India will produce more World champions

He said the game of chess is also recovering from the split federation for 13 years and so on.

For the first time, there is three "stable" World Championships and he is happy to be part of that.

Anand said it is inevitable that India will have more World champions.

"Many of the Indians are waiting for breakthrough moments. It can come anytime. I think you need to keep your faith and keep working.

"I would also say that we are expanding the pool of people through NIIT Mind Champions Academy, who not only enjoy chess but play seriously to be professionals in later life. It is inevitable that we will have more world champions," he said.